Clinic In Red Faces Closure

May 18, 2002|By Bob LaMendola Health Writer

The Wansiki Foundation was born 14 years ago as an underground medicine-buying club for AIDS patients. Now it's about to die for lack of bureaucratic skills.

One of Broward County's oldest and most colorful purveyors of HIV/AIDS medical care owes more than $100,000, and is struggling to collect its government grants and medical payments because of a series of management problems.

Unless the money is freed up within a few weeks, founder Marie Wansiki said she will have to close her nonprofit clinic and counseling office in Fort Lauderdale that sees about 1,000 patients each year.

"I'm just trying to keep the doors open," Wansiki said. "We haven't done anything wrong, really. This is a combination of little errors. If we made mistakes, work with us. If we close, where are our patients going to go?"

Her chief woe is Broward County, which is withholding payments from the group's $500,000 federal Ryan White grants until Wansiki submits a 2001 audit, which is a month late. She expects the report to be done by June 30 but fears her agency won't last that long. The county has refused to pay the agency a month's draw -- $40,000 -- to tide her over.

"It's like they're throwing dirt on the grave," Wansiki said. "I feel like the county is turning its back on us and wanting us to fail."

Financial block

County officials and other AIDS activists said that freewheeling Wansiki, despite her dedication to the cause, brought on her own problems through sloppy management, ignoring advice and too-fast growth. County inspectors found a list of missing documents and $12,000 in overcharges.

"We want the agency to survive but we can't pay until we get the audit," said Kitty Sommerville, county director of substance abuse and health-care services. "We have to see where the money goes. We have to make fiscally sound decisions."

The Wansiki clinic has a budget of $800,000 to offer a primary-care physician, case management, massage therapy, acupuncture, advice on sticking to live-saving drugs and counseling for infected parolees.

The agency has been losing money for years, its records show. Wansiki said she turns no one away, and about one-third of her patients pay nothing.

Downward spiral

At the end of 2000, the clinic was $82,000 in the hole. She was sued by a lab and others and had to work out payment plans. Wansiki thought she would recover last year by landing new Ryan White grants from the county, a state grant and a bank loan. She grew from three employees and $800 a month rent, to 15 employees in an office costing $5,600 a month. She extended hours to nights and Saturdays.

But the loan fell through. Wansiki has been unable to collect an estimated $120,000 in medical bills from Medicare and Medicaid, the federal and state health programs, because the paperwork was not done correctly. And like other nonprofit groups, Wansiki's donations fell in half after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Now, her employees have not been paid for at least three months, the rent is two months late and subcontractors and suppliers have complained about unpaid bills.

"The situation is pretty dire," said Mark LaFontaine, an accountant who joined the Wansiki board in March.

Many of her patients love the clinic's personal attention and Wansiki's hippie-style attitude. She left a $200,000-a-year job with a New Jersey meat company to open the agency, which started by buying affordable AIDS drugs overseas, sometimes illegally.

"It was a very sweet, homey little place. A lot of the clients just love it and love her," said Alan Tiano, Wansiki's deputy director who quit March 1 due to $9,500 in unpaid wages. "Marie has one of the great hearts on the planet. But she has no talent for managing people or money."

Gary Rozelle, one of three massage therapists at Wansiki, said he and his colleagues will reluctantly stop working there. He said he is owed $4,000.

Wansiki blames Tiano and other disgruntled former employees for lodging complaints with the county and city, and spreading rumors. Inspectors disproved some of the accusations, but found paperwork discrepancies and missing licenses that Wansiki is trying to solve.

Wansiki thought she could survive with the county grant money, because her audits had been late every year without consequence.

Tougher demands

But this year, Sommerville said the county is demanding more accountability from HIV/AIDS agencies after taking criticism in recent months for letting their work go uncompleted. Other AIDS activists, who said they admire Wansiki's work and dedication, support the tougher demands.

"I don't see why any agency shouldn't have that audit at the time the county said it should be in place," said Robert Rosenthal, a longtime AIDS activist.

Sommerville said if Wansiki has to close, the county can shift the grants and patients to other agencies that offer the same services.

"Our main concern is the patients," Sommerville said. "It may seem like a harsh rule. I think it's a very good business decision."

Bob LaMendola can be reached at blamendola@sun-sentinel.com or 954-356-4526.